NO. 1 SUGAR RAY ROBINSON
Record: 174-19-6 (109 KOs)
Years active: 1940-65
Titles won: World welterweight; world middleweight
Among his victims: Sammy Angott, Fritzie Zivic, Jake LaMotta, Henry Armstrong, Kid Gavilan, Bobo Olson, Gene Fullmer, Carmen Basilio
Background: Robinson would be the equivalent of a five-tool player in baseball – he could do it all. By all accounts, the sweet one had a combination of skills, athleticism and punching power that hasn’t been seen before or since. He could box beautifully one minute and tear your head off the next, whatever it took to dominate his opponents. And dominate he did. Robinson was an unfathomable 129-1-2 when he lost to Randy Turpin in their first fight, his only previous setback coming against a much bigger Jake LaMotta (by 16 pounds) in 1943. And Robinson beat LaMotta, a fellow Hall of Famer, in their other five meetings. He’s considered the greatest ever at welterweight, at which he was champion for more than five years. And some argue he’s the best middleweight of all time. He was 160-pound champ for much of the 1950s. Like many boxers, Robinson fought too long. He took 15 of his 19 losses after he turned 35 (10 after 40). However, those who saw him at his peak agree on one thing: He was one of a kind.
Next five: 11. Stanley Ketchel; 12. Archie Moore; 13. Mickey Walker; 14. Joe Gans; 15. Jimmy Wilde